The present invention relates to an alignment system that may be attached either temporarily or permanently to many existing putter golf clubs that assists the player in positioning his eyes directly over the putting line, which on a straight putt is the line extending from the center of the hole through and behind the center of the ball to be struck, in visualizing that putting line between the center of the hole through the center of the ball to be struck, in properly aligning the putter head on that line behind the ball to be struck, in maintaining proper alignment of the putter head throughout the stroke, and in seeing the path of the putter head as it is swung back and through the ball so that it is easier to swing the putter head along that putting line.
Although the golfer generally carries fourteen clubs, the putter is probably the most important club because no other club is used to execute as many strokes as the putter. In a par round of golf it is assumed that about half of the strokes will be with the putter. Thus, the ability to properly execute the putting stroke is of vital importance for successful golf. Executing a proper putting stroke presents several challenges to the player. First, the player must be able to visualize the correct putting line between the the hole and the ball to be struck. On putts with no break to either the left or right, the putting line is a straight line that runs from the center of the hole through the center of the ball to be struck. The path of the ball coincides with the putting line. On putts that will break to either the left or right because of either slope in the green or the grain of the grass, the player must visualize a straight putting line that is aimed at a point that is to the left or right of the hole by the same amount of distance that the putt will break. In this case, the path of the ball will curve off the putting line soon after the ball leaves the face of the putter head and roll to the hole on a curved path if the player made the correct estimates and executes the stroke properly for those estimates. Second, the player must strike the ball with the correct amount of force at or close to the center of gravity on the face of the putter head, which is often called the "sweet spot." Failure to strike the ball at the sweet spot may result in an otherwise successful putt failing to reach the hole. There is an interactive effect between the first and second challenges on breaking putts. The greater the force the player applies to the ball, the less the ball will curve away from the putting line over a given distance. Third, the player must align the face of the putter head so that it is perpendicular to the line of the putt at the point of impact. Failure to do so will impart a side spin on the ball so that it curves off the intended path. Finally, the player must keep the putter head traveling almost precisely along the intended line of the putt as the putter head approaches the ball and during impact with the ball. Failure to do so causes the ball to begin traveling off the putting line as soon as it is struck--what players call pushing or pulling the putt--and also imparts some unwanted side spin. The player who can constantly meet each and every one of these four challenges will hole more putts than the player who frequently falls short on even one of them. The present invention is designed to assist in consistently meeting important components of all four of these critical challenges.
Over the long history of golf, the design of putters has evolved to assist the player in executing a more consistent stroke. One of the most popular putters utilizes heel and toe weighting, thereby enlarging the angular momentum, giving the effect of a larger sweet spot. With a larger sweet spot, slight variations from the center of the sweet spot in where the ball is struck on the face of the putter reduces the difference in how far the ball rolls. The heel and toe weighting is often achieved by creating a cavity in the back of the putter head and massing most of the weight in the toe, the end of the putter head farthest away from the player, and the heel, the end of the putter head closest to the player. Another popular design, the mallet head putter, is larger in size and sometimes heavier in weight. The advantage of having a larger putter head, especially in the measurement from the face that strikes the ball to the following rear edge, is that longer reference lines or stripes can be added to the top of the putter head to assist the player in properly orienting the putter head in position with respect to the ball and the line of the putt. Some of the heel and toe weighting effect can still be achieved by making the interior of the putter head hollow with internal weighting in the heel and toe. The sometimes heavier weighting of mallet head putters assists those players who have trouble in striking the ball with enough force to roll it all the way to the hole.